RUSSIAN SCIENTIST DISPUTES GLOBAL WARMING HYPE

October 4, 2005

In comments published by the Russian News and Information Agency, Yury Izrael, director of Russia's Academy of Science's Global Climate and Ecology Institute, claims that the global warming debate is overshadowed by fallacies and misconceptions. For example, the European Union's claim that a two-degree increase in global temperatures would be dangerous is not scientifically based.

According to Izrael:

In the last 100 years, average temperatures have increased by just .6 degrees.

The rise and fall in global temperatures is nothing new; global temperatures increased during the 1940s, but fell during the 1970s; present day warming is similar to the 1940s.

Ancient climate records reveal that the earth had far greater concentrations of carbon dioxide -- as high as 6,000 parts per million (ppm) in the Carboniferous period; the current level is 378 ppm.

Furthermore, global temperatures may increase an average of three degrees, says Izrael, but the increase does not threaten mankind. Sea levels are expected to rise by 47 centimeters during the 21st century, but will not threaten port cities. Sea levels have already risen 10-20 centimeters in the last 100 years, but simply building new piers in port cities would rectify the problem.